“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” That is from the Declaration of Independence and along with the Constitution that has defined our rights for almost 250 years. In their efforts to avoid the word Socialism which is what they want, the Left has spoken of Rights we have that they wish to confer to us in their march toward Socialism in America.
Heath Care – The single most significant way the Socialists want to expand their brand is through health care. They have made clear they believe health care is a Right; not something the public can obtain toward their own benefit. They have worked for years placing restrictions on the private companies providing health insurance with Obamacare making it even more restrictive. They give their plans nice sounding names like Medicare for All or the Public Option – both of wish are attempts to crush private health insurance companies and nationalize our health insurance. What they don’t speak of is that with Rights come Obligations. The question is what new obligations will they impose upon us once they have usurped the free market for health care. They will continue to lie to us about what they are doing because they want control over your doctor and hospital. Then try to get the medical care you want. You will get what they dole out to you.
Education – If how they operate the public schools today is any indication of what they consider a Right to an education then we are all in deep trouble. The K-12 system is beholden to the teachers’ unions and are potentially the most racist organizations in America. They certainly are the least customer friendly operations with the education of children not being their raison d’etre, nor providing their parents a modicum of control. They now want to expand their domain from Day Care which is a Right through college which they want to be paid for by the public just like K-12. They want the public to absorb the soaring out-of-control cost of public universities to further indoctrinate the students. Can private universities be far behind when they continue making a college education a Right?
Housing – Can housing be far behind to be declared a Right? The Socialists would lead you to believe that the ever burgeoning homeless population in the jurisdictions they control like Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles are because of housing. Homelessness is driven by drugs and mental illness and their willful ignorance of that exacerbates the problem. They have already established their efforts in that dominion through rent control. In San Francisco they now want building owners to register each rental unit and report the rental status. There have been calls for fining building owners for not renting single units in a building. The laws enacted because of the pandemic which restrict the rights of owners to evict tenants for non-payment will be a bridge to further restricting the rights of owners and declaring housing as a Right.
Food – What is more necessary for life than food other than water? This has not been declared as an actual Right as of yet, but can it be far behind? The food stamp program which is now called SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) was established formally in 1964 with $75 million targeted at 350,000. In 2018 the program provided funds to about 40 million people costing $57.1 billion. During the Obama years states were encouraged to expand their SNAP rolls and loosened restrictions and verifications on people receiving the benefits. In some states legal residency in the country was not verified. Under President Trump the SNAP rolls shrunk significantly, but watch for the rolls to expand under Biden as the Socialists move more toward stating food is a Right.
Clothing – This has never been openly discussed as a Right, but can it be far off? In modern life, clothing is an everyday necessity particularly in less moderate climates. This has not been openly discussed potentially because it is perceived to be covered by the coming catchall Right.
Basic Income – “A basic income is typically defined as an individual’s entitlement to receive a regular payment as a right, independent of other sources of income, employment or willingness to work, or living situation.” That is the definition of a basic income. This is the new frontier and you can hear it coming from the Socialists. This once was in a test tube; it is now becoming a full-fledged pandemic of thought. The more radical members of the Left that get elected to Congress the more you will hear the argument for a Basic Income. Incidentally, in America that means anyone who happens to have obtained residence in the United States by whatever means.
There you have it. After the shellacking the Democrats took at the polls other than the presidency, one Democrat member of Congress stated they should never mention the word Socialism again. She meant it because the philosophy is harmful. What she did not understand was that they had already moved from the poisoned word to establishing Rights.